


Achievement Unlocked

by ragequitkat



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-24
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-05 22:02:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4196541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ragequitkat/pseuds/ragequitkat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Yeah. Sure.”<br/>When your life changes for good, you don’t expect it to be those couple of words. <br/>Or at least, I didn’t.</p>
<p>The story of Katherine Smythe unlocking real life achievements.</p>
<p>(all RT couples are canon in this universe except Geoff/Griffon. In here, Griffon doesn't exist.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a first person RPF with a lot of the people from RT and AH, but also some new fictional characters.  
> I haven't had anyone else read this and I'm not completely finished, but we'll see what everyone thinks. If I get good feedback, I'll keep at it.

I didn’t expect the phone call to my old friend, Barbara Dunkelman, to move me way out of the way of my family and all the other terrible distractions I was having in Pennsylvania.

My family moved around a lot when I was younger, and that led us to living out of the good ol’ Red, White, and Blue for awhile, and into Canada.

We spent a little over two and a half years there with my dad’s weirdo job while I was in high school. And that’s where I met Barb. We became close really fast and hung out almost everyday after school. At least yearly, we would have our “catch up” phone calls and hopefully, all was well with both of us.

That year was a little different.

“Hey, Barb!” I chirped into the phone.

I could almost see the blonde smile back at me. “Hey! Dude! Guess where I am!”

“Um… Tim Horton’s?”

“No, dummy! I moved to Austin, Texas! I’m in America, bitches!”

I laughed. “What brings you there?”

“Rooster Teeth.”

“Chickens don’t have teeth…”

“You’ve never heard of RT?” She exclaimed, practically blowing out my eardrum. “Don’t be stupid, yes you have! I made you watch Red vs. Blue with me a few times!”

“Oh, right! I thought that was Drunk Tank?”

“They changed their name. And they needed a Community Manager.” Barbara paused. “So here I am!”

“Awesome! I’m happy for you!” I laughed and kicked my feet out from under the blanket on my bed. “We’re in Pennsylvania. I mean, I guess I’m way old enough to leave, but… I have no where to go, ya know?”

“Come to Austin.”

“What?”

“Look, I know it sounds shitty, but Burnie and Matt are looking for someone to clean the offices. Plus, one of the guys, Geoff, is looking for a nanny for his son, Mason. You love kids. And you don’t mind cleaning. And you would be able to live with me. Cheap rent!”

“Well…” I _did_ like kids…

“Please?!”

“Yeah. Sure.”

  
  


“Kat!”

I whipped around to see her. “Barbara!” I ran to meet her halfway and gave her a hug. “Holy shit, it’s been so long!”

“For real, dude! Okay,” she smiled. “We’re gonna get barbeque and meet Burnie, Matt, Gus, and a few other unimportant people there for dinner. That’s in five hours. Would you like to go home or would you like a tour?”

I laughed. Of course she was still like this. Crazy, wonderful, and everywhere at once.

“Let’s go home first. I should start unpacking… Did my boxes get there yet?”

“Yeah!” She grinned. “Yesterday afternoon. Thank god I was home already to sign.”

“Thank you.” We walked out of the airport with my suitcase in tow. “So, do I meet Geoff tonight?”

She shook her head. “Um. No. He, uh… The reason he needs a nanny? He’s a single dad. His wife was in a car accident five years ago. Mason was only three. His parent-in-laws are visiting the kid today, and he’s got a date.”

“Wow,” I breathed out. “Man, that sucks. Does Mason remember his mom?”

She shrugged. “I’m not super close with Geoff. He’s really cool, and I have fun when I do hang out with him, but we don’t talk about Mandy.”

“His wife?”

“Yeah. She was cool. She worked at RT for a while, too.”

I nodded, silent. What would I say to that?

Barb shrugged. “His mourning period is over though. Joel and Gus set him up with some chick from a bar. He’s gone on dates before, but Mason and work are his main priorities.”

“Makes sense.”

We finally made it to Barb’s car and were off out of the airport’s parking lot in about ten minutes. Soon, we would be to her house, according to her GPS.

Austin was one town I had never been to.

So far, I loved it.

It was pretty and I was with my best friend. It was funny that we could get right back into the swing of things even after not seeing each other for years.

“And then there’s Gavin! You remember me telling you about him, right?”

“Yes, of course!” I smiled at the memories of all the stories she told me about her British friend. “He sounds like a bunch of fun.”

“Glad you think so! Cause he works with Geoff a lot! And he used to live with Geoff and Mason before he moved in with his girlfriend, Meg. She’s cool, too!”

“Alright.” I nodded and looked out the window. “How far is the office from our place?”

Barb hummed in thought for a moment. “If we drive, five minutes. Like twenty if you walk.”

I nodded once again.

“You okay, Katherine?”

“Fine. Tired. Travelling sucks. So, I’m glad we have time before dinner.”

“Aw, so that means you don’t want the tour today?”

“Babs…”

“Party pooper.”

I stuck my tongue out at her and then laughed. “We’ll have tons of time, don’t worry.”

“I know… But our next few days are gonna be crazy packed with a bunch of different important things. Then you’ll have to start working! And then we won’t be able to do anything fun!”

“I am more than certain you would find a way to cram plans into the rest of the time when we weren’t working.”

“RTX is coming up soon, though. I’ll be planning. Oh! Wanna be my guardian?! Or possibly Geoff’s?!”

“Wanna be a what?”

“Guardian. It’s basically a volunteer that follows us around with water and being a glorified personal assistant. That’s how I started with them.”

“Huh.” I shrugged. “I guess. Whoever needs one. As long as I don’t have to nanny Mason that day.”

“Eh, you’ll be fine! Mason’s gonna wanna go this year. He loves RTX.”

Finally, we pulled into the parking lot of a small apartment complex.

“Here we are!”

  
  


Dinner came way too fast.

“Burnie!”

A tall man with curly, light brown hair peppered with grays turned towards us. He had a beard and rectangular framed glasses. “Barb!” He waved at us and we went over to the table he was sitting at. On his left, a pretty woman with dirty blonde hair, and on his right, a grumpy, skinny, Mexican man with thin glasses.

I only say grumpy because his arms were crossed and he had a scowl painted on his lips.

“Hey, guys!” My friend pointed at me. “This is my friend, Katherine Smythe. She’s the one who will be living with me.” She turned to look at me. “Kat… These are some of the people I was telling you about. This is Burnie Burns. He founded RT. And this is his girlfriend, Ashley Jenkins. She works at RT, too. And this is Gus Sorola. He was one of the first members and he is in charge of Podcasts and co director of RTX.”

I shook Burnie’s outstretched hand and told them all how nice it was to meet them and I was excited to be here.

“Matt and Joel should be here soon, and I think Juggey, too,” Ashley smiled.

What the fuck kind of name is ‘Juggey’? I sat down across from Burnie and next to Barbara. Soon, they were having a conversation about grapes. I was very lost, but then Gus asked me if I liked grapes.

“Um, yeah?”

“Cause people like grapes!”

I was surprised at the way the rest of the table said it in sync.

“Um… Yes?”

Ashley laughed. “Gavin says dumb things. So we make fun of him a lot. And that was one of those things.”

“Making fun of my boy?!” a voice came from behind me. I turned to see a curly haired, pale, boy with a red-headed girl holding onto his hand.

“You know we love Gav-o!” Burnie told him. “Hey, this is Katherine. She’s gonna be working with us, helping around the offices. Kat, this is Michael Jones and Lindsay Tuggey. They both work in Achievement Hunter with Geoff and Gavin.”

Jones… Tuggey… Juggey… Oh!

“Nice to meet you,” I smiled at them.

Lindsay sat next to me and smiled. “So, guess why we’re late!”

Barb laughed. “What happened this time?”

“Well, Matt and Joel were leaving the office when we were, and we decided to have a race.”

Gus rolled his eyes. “Of fucking course! Everyone acts like children!”

“I grabbed the office bike,” Michael told us. “And Joel grabbed some shitty ass bike we found just sitting around. And we started the race by the Honey Wagon, then biked to the main office and back, then switched off. I got the bitch to be on my team, and Matt on Joel’s team.” Michael went on and on about the race and finally. “So! They’re on their way. After they explain to the girl’s parents that they fucked up her bike.”

“Children!” Gus yelled, grumpy again. “Everyone I work with acts like a child!”

“Except Yvonne and Kathleen. They’re not children. They’re the momma hens!” Barb told me. “They’re pretty damn responsible. And so is Gus… Most of the time. But not all the time.”

I nodded, but could not understand most of what they were talking about throughout dinner. Eventually, Joel and Matt did show up and we ended up having a great time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kat is introduced to Geoff and his son...along with Achievement Hunter...

“Son of a bitch! Gavin, you big baby anus!”

What. The. Fuck.

A British voice responded with, “But Geoff!” And then a squawking noise.

I knocked on the door tentatively. I heard loud footsteps running towards the door.

“HEY, KAT!” Michael yelled as he opened the door. I leaned back a little.

“Lean back!” A Hispanic boy behind the one I met earlier sang.

“She is,” Michael whined.

“Um,” I cleared my throat. “I’m here to meet Geoff? Is he...around?”

“Yeah, but first let’s meet me. I’m Ray!”

“Hi, Ray,” I grinned at him. After he had stopped shouting at me to lean back, he seemed like a nice guy. “I’m Katherine.”

“Nice to meet you! Do you play video games?”

“A bit. I never was able to have a console when we moved around cause we had to downsize our houses. But I liked going to the arcades in the towns we lived.”

He nodded. “You may enter. Geoff!”

“What?” A grown man with dark hair and many tattoos yelled from behind a very big beard. He was sitting on the squawking skinny boy I assumed to be the British guy who likes grapes. He looked up and his face drained. “Oh. Uh. Hey.” He stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans. “You must be Katherine?”

I nodded. “You must be Geoff, then. You can call me Kat.”

“Alright, Kat. I wasn’t expecting you just yet…”

“Oh, is it a bad time? I can come back later? I just got done helping Kerry, so I thought I’d swing by.”

“No! You’re fine! I just...obviously wasn’t prepared.” He gestured to the mess on the floor that was from their scuffle. “Um. Welcome to the Achievement Hunter office. I founded this branch, and brought on my buddy, Jack.” He pointed to a guy sitting behind his computer with a long, red, beard and glasses. “Michael joined next, and it was all downhill from there. And, uh, here we are.” He hesitated, but then… “Wanna go get a drink? Talk about Mason?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” I smiled. “R-right now?”

“Geoff drinks all the time. It’s hard to make him drunk, actually.”

“Gavin, shut the fuck up.”

“No, you shut up, Ryan!”

Ryan rolled his eyes and went back to what looked like editing.

“Are you burning text onto footage?” I asked.

Blue eyes met mine as Geoff smiled. “Yeah, he is! You edit?”

“Took a couple of classes in high school.” I shrugged a shoulder. “Not much experience out of that, though.”

“That’s top, though!” Gavin said. “Maybe you can help us a bit!”

Geoff rolled his eyes. “Get to work, Gav. Jack? You’re in charge while I’m gone. If you need help, get Kdin.”

He nodded his head towards the door and I followed him out.

“So. How you liking Austin so far?”

“It’s only been a few days,” I laughed, “but it’s good so far! I lived right outside San Antonio for a few months when I was thirteen. I had my first kiss there. This is the first time I’ve been back since then.”

“Really? Where else have you lived?”

I started to tell him where my family had dragged me through. “I was born in Miami, and soon moved to South Carolina. We stayed a couple of years in Montana cause my brother was born. And after he turned two, we were off again.”

“Where was your favorite place?”

“Canada. That’s where I met Barb. And I was able to stay through a little over half my high school career, so I was happy there. I stuck with my family after graduation to help my parents with my brother.” I turned to look at him. “Where are we going?”

“There’s a bar. Only a few blocks away. They’re pretty nice there.”

“Ah.” We were silent for a moment. “So. Um. Can I ask a few questions?”

“Shoot.”

“How old is Mason?”

“He’s about to turn eight. In two months.”

I nodded. “What does he like to do on weekends?”

“He likes video games. He doodles and plays with Legos. Watching superhero movies. Uh, he plays baseball and he wants to play a few instruments, but I told him to pick one for now.”

“Do you get to see all his games?”

“I missed one. And felt terrible for a couple of days after that. So I hope to keep going to all of them.” He shrugged. “He’s good, but I don’t know if he wants to keep doing it for much longer.”

“Why not?”

“He’s bad at keeping to his commitments. I’m honestly surprised how long he’s kept this up.” He told me, then pointed at a building. “This is it.”

I took a long look at the brick building. There were neon signs in the windows, and some moss growing through old graffiti on the side. The top sign spelled out; The Jackalope.

“This is cool,” I told him. “It looks fun!”

“It’s better at night… But… C’mon.” We walked in and he headed straight to the bar.

“Geoff!” A blonde girl smiled at us. “Usual?”

“Nah, I’ll take a wheat beer. And you?” He looked at me.

“Same.”

“You got it!”

He led me to a table. “So. Any other questions?”

“Yeah,” I sat and crossed my legs. “You have a usual here?”

“Yep. A whiskey and a moonshine. To start. Like Gav said, I have a super high tolerance for alcohol.”

I nodded. “Alright. So… Nannying would consist of…?”

“Uh, making sure he gets to school on time at nine, then pick him up and keep him company for a couple of hours while I finish working. On days where he’s off of school, you’d hang out with him. Stay at the house or go out, whichever. Can you cook?”

I nodded. “I can cook. Bake, too.”

“You’re perfect.”

I grinned at that. “Thanks!”

“Wanna do it?”

  
  


“Go! GO! GO!”

I leaned a little further away from the enthusiastic parents. Mason was playing in a baseball game tonight, and after, Geoff was taking us both to get ice cream so we could meet.

My soon-to-be employer chuckled at my misfortune of sitting next to the most obnoxious cheerleaders for the Eastern Pirates.

This is a children’s recreational sport. These parents seemed a little too intense for the eight and nine year olds on the field. Hell, a few of them were picking their noses in the outfield.

“Which one is yours?” The elderly woman behind us asked.

“Number seven,” Geoff told her. “He’s my son. Which one’s yours?”

“My grandson is number forty-two. You are an adorable family.”

“Oh!” I blushed. “No, I’m just his baby sitter. I… I’m new, I don’t know him that well.” I pointed at my laughing companion. “He hired me today through a mutual friend. I… We’re not together.”

“I’m so sorry!” She laughed back at us. “Oh, my, I just assumed. Usually only family comes to the games.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But not this time.” Geoff raised an eyebrow at me before yelling to Mason, “LET’S GO, BUDDY, YOU CAN DO IT!”

“What is he doing?”

“No clue. I think he’s supposed to be short stop. But he’s standing a little too far for that…”

Soon, the inning changed so our team was up to bat. Mason sat in the dugout, waiting for his turn and drinking Gatorade. An assistant coach went to talk to him, squatting down to be at his eye level.

Hm, that guy is cute…

After the first person struck out, it was Mason’s turn. He picked up a bat and started walking slowly to the plate.

“On a scale of one to ten, how good is he at b--?”

“Seven,” Geoff told me. “Gets more balls than strikes, but he still misses the ball occasionally. Better than most of the kids on the other teams.”

His eyes never left his son, watching with intensity. I watched him for a moment before turning my attention to the field. Mason had made it to the plate and was taking stance. The first pitch was a ball, then there was a strike. On the third pitch, a loud crack resonated through the diamond. It went way into the left outfield and the boy out there didn’t seem to understand what exactly happened.

“GO MASON!” Geoff cheered. I joined in as he made it to second base, careful not to be overconfident. He was smart as he played, I figured soon after he distracted the players a little by faking a steal right when his teammate looked stressed. Good kid.

After the batter hit the ball, Mason ran to third. He was quick, but once again, didn’t try to be cocky and risk an out. Another kid stepped up.

Once the ball flew over to the right field, he darted. Safe at home.

I started to think that maybe Geoff was being modest about his son’s skills. He looked decent enough. I mean, as decent as I’d seen an eight year old baseball player be. He was probably the best on his team.

“Yeah! Good job, buddy!” Geoff stood as he clapped. I followed suit, and apparently, it distracted the pitcher enough to throw a terrible pitch at the next teammate.

  
  


“What’s your favorite color?”

I blinked before I answered. “Like...orange? Maybe? I like pink, too.”

“Lightish red.” Mason rolled his eyes. “Fine, you’re hired.”

“Lightish red?”

“Pink,” Geoff told him as he shoved more ice cream in his mouth, then to me; “Is lightish red. It’s a Red vs. Blue reference.”

“Alright. I’ve seen a few minutes. Barbara made me watch some back in high school, but I wasn’t really sure what the appeal of Halo was back then. I’ve since learned, though.”

“Dad’s in it!”

“You are?”

“Yeah, I play Grif. The one in the orange armor on Red Team.” He shrugged. “It’s not a big deal or anything. Mason seems to think so though.”

“It is a big deal! You’re famous!” Mason licked his cone and then his eyes lit up. “Can you come in for career day?!”

“When is it?”

“Monday.”

“Dude.”

“What?”

Geoff closed his eyes for a moment. “We’re filming AHWU.”

“Ah, what?” I asked.

“WU. Achieve-e-ment Hunter Weekly Update!” Mason told me as I handed him a napkin. “It’s the news!”

I nodded like I knew what was happening and let Geoff think in silence as I kept his son busy.

“I guess Ray can read the news this week. I can go to career day for a couple hours, but then I have to go back to work to film a few Things to Do and Let’s Plays. That okay, buddy?”

“Yeah, as long as you show up.”

“Promise.”

“I promise that I will be there for ya, buddy.”

“Thank you, Dad.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose, filling in the blanks in the stupid paperwork. My life had turned to paperwork. All the DMV stuff, all the stuff with the landlord so I could live here with Barb, all the tax forms for my two new places of employment, and all my insurance shit. I never thought I’d be this stressed over paper.

I hadn’t even started to look for a doctor or dentist or hair place. I glanced up at the clock and groaned when I noticed it was already two in the morning. I had to be at the Ramsey house in five hours, then after Mason was at school, I had to go clean.

I got up and went into the kitchen in search for some alcohol… There.

Absolute.

I grabbed a glass and poured a little in before taking the shot. Fuck, that’s strong.

“Kat?”

“Hey, Barb.”

“Are you drinking?”

I looked at the bottle, then back to her. “I just had one shot. I have to be up in three hours anyway. So. Why not make it an all-nighter, huh?”

She rolled her eyes. “If you’re gonna drink, there’s some Hard Lemonade in the back of the fridge. Don’t get too drunk right before your first day for the Ramseys.”

Nodding, I tucked the bottle away and grabbed a cold one from the fridge. “Have you tried this mixed with Mountain Dew?”

“No! That sounds delicious!”

I grinned and poured half the bottle into one glass, then half in hers. She handed me a can of soda from the pantry and I split it into the cups. “Drink up, Barb.”

And she did.

  
  


“Fuck,” she groaned. “We drank way too much for a Sunday night.”

“Yeah…” I massaged my temples. “We fucked up. I didn’t even finish my paperwork. And I need to be there...in fifteen minutes.”

“I’m drunker than you. You can borrow my car.”

“Thanks,” I stood and quickly got ready, bringing the paperwork in my backpack. I made it to Geoff’s right on time.

“How’s it going?”

“Good. I pulled an all nighter. So. Tired as hell.”

“Me, too.” He laughed. “Mason just got up, so he’s gonna be eating soon. I made eggs and bacon if you want some too?”

“Mm,” I rubbed my eyes. “Probably. Are you headed out?”

“Yeah, in a minute. I was gonna walk you through everything.” He pointed at the alarm by the front door. “That shit’s fucking annoying. You don’t have to set it if you’re coming back within three hours.”

He turned to point at a desktop computer. “This is our desktop, I mainly use it for editing stuff for Achievement Hunter. If you get bored and don’t want to play video games,” he paused to roll his eyes like that was impossible. “You can use that shit. Just careful with the equipment.” He walked into the bathroom. “If you need to take a shower for some reason, this is how you turn it on.”

I watched the blur of his tattoos as he turned the faucet on and off.

“Does every single tattoo have a certain meaning to you?” I asked.

“Um, most of them, yes.” He grinned. “Got any yourself?”

I nodded and pulled the neck of my shirt down on my back, turning. “On my shoulder. It’s an arrow. Cause you can only go forward if you’re pulled back.”

“That’s really nicely done… Where were you when you got it?”

“Uh, Ohio. Toledo.” I pulled my shirt back into place. “And thank you. I’ve been thinking about more. I assume you know a place?”

“Oh, yeah. I can show you sometime.” He motioned for me to follow. “Mason’s room’s down here, on the left, and the guest room is next to his. Gavin used to live in there. The other bathroom and my bedroom are on the right. The closet with our extra towels and our broom and shit is next to Mason’s room. And that door?” He pointed to the last one on the right. “That’s the electrical closet. I think I’ve been in there once. I also store tools in there.”

I nodded and followed him back in the kitchen, where Mason was groggily eating eggs.

“Mornin’ buddy!”

He grunted in reply while I smiled and made a move towards the cabinets. “Excited for school today?”

“Hell no.”

“Watch your fucking mouth,” Geoff ruffled his hair. “And have a good day, okay?”

“Fine, I’ll try.” He gave a thumbs up and went back to eating. I grinned as Geoff looked at me and gave his own thumbs up.

“You’ll do great. You have my number if you need me. Have fun!”

With that, I was alone with Mason for the first time. I took a deep breath in and then turned to him. “How much time do you usually need to get ready before we leave?”

“Usually twenty minutes. Did Dad pack me a lunch?”

I turned to the fridge and didn’t see anything. “No, I’ll make something for you though. What do you want?”

“Sandwich. Pringles. Oreos.”

“Alrighty!” I set to work as he finished his breakfast.

  
  


“Alright, who let the cleaning lady on set?” Gus yelled before the podcast started.

“Hey,” I pointed at him. “If it weren’t for me, you’d still have that mac and cheese stuck to the carpet. So I’d shut up if I were you.”

He grinned. “Eh, I already thanked you for that. So my conscious is clear.”

“Pft. Yeah, sure it is. Can I stay or not?”

“Fine,” he waved me away as I went to sit next to Miles.

“Hey!”

“Hi! How’s RWBY going?”

He pretended to start crying, then motioned to his laptop. “Take a look if you’d like.”

I pulled the laptop to me and skimmed through, reading through Jaune’s misadventures with a dress. And then… [Cue dance sequence]

“Um… Dance sequence?”

“Monty already mo-capped a dance, and we have to use it. It’s his show.” Miles rubbed a hand down his face. “I just don’t know how to connect that with…” He scrolled up and got to a different episode. “This.”

I read a few lines and hummed. “What if...Jaune has a talk with Nora or something?”

“I dunno…”

“He could try to talk to Lie Ren?”

Miles stared at the screen for awhile then, “Absolutely right. You are amazing.”

“Quiet on set!”

I looked up to see Kara starting the podcast up right in front of us.

They introduced themselves before Gus and Burnie almost immediately started ganging up on Gavin while Barbara laughed at him. Miles tapped away on the computer next to me and I watched his quick fingers dance across the keyboard, completely and utterly fascinated. He seemed to know exactly what he was trying to say and then exactly how to phrase it in each character’s narrative. Which..made sense. He helped create the universe.

“I need to text Kerry…” He paused to pull out his phone and text his best friend and co-writer about the new development.

“So, now how’s RWBY going?”

“Fantastic!”

I smiled and read over his shoulder for a moment.

A voice in the back of my head (that strangely sounded like Barb’s) started whooping and giggling about how cute the two of us would be. Then a very clear ‘Girl, you’ve been in Austin for three months. When you gonna get a date?!’.

I rolled my eyes at imaginary Barbara’s voice and kept reading the script. “You misspelled that.”

“No I did--” The little red squiggle popped up beneath the misspelled ‘apprach’. “Ah, goddammit.”

“Told ya.”

“Shut up.” He turned to me with a smile. “You know, you’re a good editor.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Really?”

“Yep! Maybe I should keep you around.”

“Maybe you should,” I agreed and turned back to see the crazy live debate happening before us. Gavin was being cut off  by Burnie yelling every time he got a word out.

“WHY DO YOU NEVER MAKE SENSE?!”

“I j--”

“NO. SHUT UP. EVERY WORD YOU SAY. DOES. NOT. MAKE. SENSE.”

“But Burnie! I--”

“Shut up! Get off the podcast!”

I laughed at the expression Gavin got.

“Simmer down, everyone!” Gus finally intervened. “Or else I’ll bring Miles and Kat on to replace you!”

My eyes widened and I shook my head. Miles laughed and yelled out, “I’m not decent! I haven’t shaved recently!”

Barb raised her bottle of beer to us. “I haven’t either!”

“Gross!” Burnie groaned, looking down to his laptop for tweets. “Gus, is it time for an ad read yet?”

“Actually, it is! This one is dedicated to you, Miles and Barb. This episode of the podcast is brought to you by the Dollar Shave Club.” The whole room laughed at that.

After the read, Barb held up a finger. “Hold on. Have we introduced Kat to the community yet?”

“I don’t think so… Hey, Patrick, do we have an extra mic?”

“Oh, that’s okay!” I yelled. “I’m alright!”

“Grace the internet with your beauty!” Miles whispered. I blushed and shook my head again. “Oh, come on!”

Kara was handing me the mic and I was being forced upon the stage and sat between Gav and Barb. My friend gave my shoulder a squeeze and grinned.

“Welcome to the podcast, Kat!” Gus said.

“Hey,” I mumbled, adjusting myself a bit. “I was not expecting this.”

“Well, it’s happening!”

‘So, luv,” Gavin turned slightly. “How are you liking Austin?”

“It’s a good city. Good people.” I cleared my throat. “I like working here and for Geoff. “

“Well,” Burnie interrupted, “what do you do for Geoff?”

“Oh! I nanny Mason for him. And while he’s at school, I come in and help clean and do random tasks for anyone in the office.”

“Like lunch runs!” Barb hugged me. “I’m still very glad you got me lunch.”

“Oh, you know. It was no problem.”

“Tomorrow you’re going to be in the AH office, yeah?”

“Mhm,” I said. “Mason’s off from school, so we’re both gonna hang out with you guys, Gav!”

“We’re very excited to have you!”

“Aw, thanks!” I pretended to be embarrassed and blushy. I saw Miles laugh from where he was sitting. That gave me a little bit more confidence to talk on the camera. “I’m both very excited and very scared as to what we’re gonna do.”

“You’ll just have to wait and see!”

“You don’t even know, do you Gav-o?”

“Not the foggiest.”

Barb rolled her eyes. “I think you’ll have a great time. The AH guys know how to have fun.”

“Honestly,” I said. “I think everyone here at RT knows how to have fun. These past few months have been pretty awesome.”

“Even better than when we lived in Canada together?”

“Yes.”

Miles smiled at me.


	4. Chapter 4

“AYYY! What’s up everyone? It’s time for Go!” Geoff’s voice cracked on the last word. I smiled as Lindsay turned to film me helping Mason with some homework on the couch. Geoff’s voice was in the background as the younger Ramsey asked me how to graph an inequality.

I was helping him make a straight line by holding the ruler when I heard a commotion.

“WE’RE FILMING, ASSHOLE!”

“Sorry! Your light wasn’t on! I’m sorry!”

I looked up at Miles, eyes wide and cheeks slightly red.

Geoff rolled his eyes, “Whatcha need, Luna?”

“I was looking for Katherine, actually. Is she around?” He turned his head and spotted me. “Oh! If you’re busy though…”

“I’ll meet you outside the office in ten minutes?”

“No problem! Sorry...again!”

As the door closed, I was attacked with a camera. Lindsay gave me a face and I rolled my eyes, returning to tutoring Mason.

After all the inequalities were graphed, he was done with math. And I decided to give him (and myself) a break. I made sure he could dig out his DS before I got up. I pointed to the door when Geoff saw me and he waved a hand to say go ahead.

I gave a thumbs up and walked out, only having to look to the left to find him.

“Hey!”

“Hi! Sorry I, uh, ruined the filming in there.”

“No problem, they’re fine.” I grinned, looking down. “So, uh, what’s up?”

“Oh, um, I was trying to write a scene in RWBY and I got stuck, and I remembered how awesome you were last night, so I was wondering if you possibly wanted to get coffee after work and help me go over it?”

I bit my lip. “Um, sure! I think I’ll be done by six…”

“Little late for coffee,” Miles admitted. “Wanna get a drink or maybe some dinner instead?”

“Sounds great! I’ll let Barb know she can leave whenever she wants.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

He let out a short laugh. “So I’ll see you later then?”

“Definitely.”

I waved at him before walking back in and plopping back on the couch. I decided I should probably shoot a text to Barbara…

**Babs. Do not freak out. I think I was just asked out on a date.**

Her reply came shortly after, reading; **?????? WHAT? WHO?**

**I said don’t freak out.**

**I did not use a single exclamation point. Now answer me!**

I rolled my eyes. **Miles asked me to get a drink or dinner with him tonight.**

“Hey, Katherine?” Mason asked. “I need to name a character. Give me a girl’s name.”

“Um, how about Kayley?”

He shrugged. “Not bad. So her twin will be named Hayley.”

I laughed. “They don’t need rhyming names.”

“Oh well!”

My phone buzzed again and I was quick to open it.

**You said yes….RIGHT???**

**Yes. So don’t wait for me, ok?**

“What other names rhyme with Kayley, Hailey, and Bailey?”

  


“So, wait, wait, wait… What did you major in?”

He mumbled, “Radio, Television, and Film.”

“And you’ve never watched Rear Window?” I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Ever?”

“No,” he admitted. “I know the plot though!”

“Miles Luna. That is insane. Have you seen Citizen Kane? Gone With the Wind? Gold Rush?”

“No…” Another sheepish smile. “I know it’s crazy!”

“Forget dinner, we’re going to go find one of these movies and we are going to watch it. We can get take out or something on the way.”

He smiled. “Sounds fantastic, Katherine.”

And that is the conversation that led us to a secondhand book, music, and movie store, scouring the bin for a cheap copy of one of the classics I was convinced he had to see.

“Did you find one?”

“Negative, Captain,” he said. “Have you?”

I shook my head. “We might have to spring for the DVD copy.”

“But VHS’s are only half a buck!”

“I know!” I looked up. “I can’t believe how many fucking porn videos are in here.”

“And how they’re all the same film?”

I picked two of them up and looked at them. “Matching porn. For you and the bae.”

Miles started laughing, gripping the side of the bin. “Oh my God. Can I tweet that?”

“Sure!” I handed them the copies. “Better get a picture, too.”

He set them down on top and took out his iPhone. “Best first date ever.”

I blushed, hiding behind my hair. “Yeah?”

“Definitely!”

I distracted myself with sifting through some more. “I’m having a pretty good time, too.”

He was busy typing out the tweet when I found it. A very battered paper sleeve around a black VHS. Citizen Kane.

I held it up and cleared my throat. “Rosebud.”

He looked up with his eyebrows knit in confusion. “Wha-- Oh! You found it!”

“Hell yeah!”

He high fived me and put the porn back down. “Now...are we up for Chinese or…?”

“Dude, orange chicken sounds so fucking good right now.”

“Have you been to the place over on ninth?”

"No, not yet. I heard it was delicious though."

"You will love it."

  


"Thanks for dinner."

"Thanks for the movie," he said back. Miles was insistent that he was a true gentleman and he needed to walk me to the door. My keys were in the lock, but I didn't want to say goodbye yet. I looked down to my shoes.

"I had fun tonight."

"Me too."

I looked back up at him. "We should do it again?"

"Yeah! Most definitely! We can set something up later." He nodded and then sighed. "It's getting late."

"Yeah, Barb's probably going to be worried."

Once again, he nodded. "Well... Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Miles."

I opened the door and finally stepped inside.

I should have kissed him.

I dropped my bag down and kicked off my shoes. Now I just felt stupid. Why wouldn't I have kissed him? Why didn't he kiss me?

Before I could yell to Barbara that I was home, there was a knock on the door. I turned to open it, and there was Miles.

"I forgot something."

"What was th--"

His lips cut me off.

After a few seconds of the softest lips moving against mine, he pulled away and smiled. "That's what I forgot."

"I'm glad you remembered." I leaned closer to his warm frame and he opened up his arms to let me hug him.

"Now I do need to go."

"Aw, sweet!" We turned to see Barb in her pajamas. "I got to see the first kiss between... Kiles? Matherine? Smuna? Well, whatever it is! I saw it first!"

"Barb!" I whined. "Don't do this!"

"Whaaaat? It's fun!"

I rolled my eyes and turned back to Miles. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," he pecked my cheek. "Seeya, Babs!"

Once the door shut, she started squealing at me. "So the date went well?"

"Yes, it went wonderfully." I smiled, happy with my evening.

"Tell me everything!"


End file.
